Softer leather, harder leather, dyeing leather

[waywarddreams]

I'm a very very new beginner (nerdy wave). Essentially, I've seamstressed for ages, and about two months ago decided to play with leather for a change of pace, and I'm finding it a great medium (no grainlines to worry about--sign me up). A week and a half ago, I got my first carving tools as a birthday present, and I've been experimenting all week on a piece of hide.

What I'd like to know is, is there a way to take one piece of leather and soften it in some spots to make it more pliable, or to take a pliable piece of leather and stiffen it up in places? Would a treatment like that affect dyeing later on, or would it be done post-dyeing process?

Additionally, I did dye my first piece of leather today and there were areas where the leather resisted taking the dye as well. Was this just a result of my not having the best leather? Can I get something that can make the leather more receptive to the dye?

Also, if I post some of the things I've been working on, how constructive is the criticism? I'm sort of experimenting with things on my own, I just got a fifteen minute demonstration from a nice person at Tandy about carving who sort of gave me the four tools he thought I'd need and I bought them, and a 20 page pamphlet I was sold, so I could use a little mentoring at this stage.

[cybertracy]

Hi, and welcome. I'm very new and still experimenting too and find this forum priceless. I don't have the experience to answer most of your questions, but I had the same dye problems where more dye would "grab" in places and some were resistant (and I think the leather quality does have something to do with it). I took some advice I found here and made a solution of 1 tsp of oxalic acid to a quart of water and used a soft sponge to wash the piece before I applied the dye. This really helped even out the color application. Be sure you are compeltely done tooling before doing this. I also did a wiped the piece with plain water after the oxalic acid and let the piece dry to the point where the color of the leather is back to it's natural state but there is still some cool dampness to the piece (tooling ready).

good luck in your leather adventures, stick to this forum you'll learn lots.

[strapt]

Hey there Wayward, welcome to the board.

I'm also pretty new still, but I may have some answers to a couple of your questions.

As far as making a piece of tooling leather more flexible, the only solution I've found is to remove some of the material and essentially make the leather thinner. You can do this by Skiving parts of your hide, or for larger areas an electric sander can be used... though it is a little messy and time consuming. It is my understanding that the sandpaper method is how most suedes are produced these days.

As for the dyeing- I have found that wetting the leather first, and then using a sponge and water bowl in conjunction with your dye helps out quite a bit.

Good luck with your new hobby! Kep us posted n your progress.

[HandyAndy]

I have just accidentally found that if you thin spirit dye with denatured alcohol it will be VERY rigid when it dries.

I used 2 parts dye with 1 part Denatured alcohol.

[TwinOaks]

Welcome to Leatherworker.net!

Drying rate and temp can have a profound effect on stiffness of leather. Slow, cool, drying will be more pliant, while speed dried with a heat source will be much harder. As Andy discovered, using a solvent will rapidly dispell moisture, and oils in the leather. Adding a lot of conditioner/oil to a piece of leather will soften it.

When you post something on this forum, you can expect quite a gambit of responses. If you ask for a critique, though, expect one. I've yet to see any harsh criticism here, and I don't think I ever will- the people here are just too nice. What you may look forward to is : '....try doing ____, instead of ____' ; and perhaps a few questions along the lines of ' Have you tried ___?', 'Did you know that you can do ______', etc.

Ask questions until your fingers are too tired to type anymore. We'll help all we can

Edited April 20, 2008 by TwinOaks

[waywarddreams]

Ask questions until your fingers are too tired to type anymore. We'll help all we can

I hugely appreciate it. I think my biggest problem right now is I've never even SEEN someone carve leather, and the book I'm attempting to learn from is something like a dozen pages long.

This is going to sound fabulously stupid, but is there a video somewhere of someone carving leather that I can stare at--so many little basic technique things I'm trying to figure out on my own would be easier to solve. Things like how to best hold tools, how to hold the leather while carving to keep it from moving. Heck, how to keep there from being 1000 little scratchmarks from my nails touching. I swear I cut them to the quick just because of it, but they keep nicking the leather.

[Timd]

Hidecrafters has tons of instructional videos that are reasonably priced. Thier website is down, but if you call them,888-263-5277, they'll send a catalog. I also noticed you're from PA. Where abouts? I'm just north of Philly.

[Rawhide]

I'm a very very new beginner (nerdy wave). Essentially, I've seamstressed for ages, and about two months ago decided to play with leather for a change of pace, and I'm finding it a great medium (no grainlines to worry about--sign me up). A week and a half ago, I got my first carving tools as a birthday present, and I've been experimenting all week on a piece of hide.

What I'd like to know is, is there a way to take one piece of leather and soften it in some spots to make it more pliable, or to take a pliable piece of leather and stiffen it up in places? Would a treatment like that affect dyeing later on, or would it be done post-dyeing process?

Additionally, I did dye my first piece of leather today and there were areas where the leather resisted taking the dye as well. Was this just a result of my not having the best leather? Can I get something that can make the leather more receptive to the dye?

Also, if I post some of the things I've been working on, how constructive is the criticism? I'm sort of experimenting with things on my own, I just got a fifteen minute demonstration from a nice person at Tandy about carving who sort of gave me the four tools he thought I'd need and I bought them, and a 20 page pamphlet I was sold, so I could use a little mentoring at this stage.

Hi Wayward,

Welcome to the forum. I think you'll find a wealth of knowledge here to help you with your endevours. To answer your questions, leather quality will have a profound effect on your carving and dyeing. A lot of times a toolable (veg-tanned) leather will have hard spots. These spots did not get much of the tanning oils if any at all. This will affect the way the dye penetrates and shows. For now, I would stick with the cheap stuff until you get up to speed with actual projects. Then if you plan to do things for profit, I would upgrade to the best leather you can afford, and charge accordingly.

Spirit dye (alcohol based) dye (fiebing's) will dry out leather more-so than water based (eco-flow). However, water based dye takes a longer time to dry between coats. I am in agreement with Twin Oaks about speed drying vs. cool drying. The faster you dry the harder it will be. If you want to make leather more pliable, you can use Lexol conditioning solution to soften it up.

To actually see someone carve will probably help.

on carving leather. It's just a simple video with a person carving, but you'll get the idea of how it goes.

The uneven dying could be a number of things. Are you using an antique stain, water based dye, alchohol based dye? All of these have a different method of application, so I'll need a little more info before I make any suggestions there.

By the way, welcome to the addiction.

Marlon

[waywarddreams]

Hidecrafters has tons of instructional videos that are reasonably priced. Thier website is down, but if you call them,888-263-5277, they'll send a catalog. I also noticed you're from PA. Where abouts? I'm just north of Philly.

I'm currently near Harrisburg, but I'll be moving to the Lehigh Valley area shortly.

That video was very actually helpful, and I clicked around and found some others that also helped. I didn't think about the fact that youtube could... educate!